We noticed that you're using an unsupported browser. The TripAdvisor website may not display properly.We support the following browsers:Windows: Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome. Mac: Safari.

I am planning a trip for September and trying to figure out if I have enough time to make my international flight. These are separate flights so I would have to collect luggage and check again for the next leg. The first flight arrives from New Orleans at JFK at 11:00am. This is a nonstop flight. The international leg is with Icelandair and departs at 2:00pm. Do I have enough time to make this connection or should I look for something different? I have never been through JFK so not sure of the logistics. Thank you for any help.

I would prefer something with more time in between flights. Many airlines now recommend checking in 3 hours before international flights - if your first flight lands on time you still have to wait for luggage, collect it - transfer to the proper terminal for your next flight, go through security, check in, etc. The arrival time on the schedule is when the plane touches down, not when you get off the plane at the jetway - and what if your first flight is late, delayed, etc. If you can arrange for more time I would, even if it will mean more time hanging around the airport and waiting.

<<The arrival time on the schedule is when the plane touches down, not when you get off the plane at the jetway>>

-----

Not true. Airline scheduled departure and arrival times are the time when the aircraft is schedule to first move off stand on departure (pushback) until the time when it is scheduled to arrive at its first parking position on arrival. Definitely not "wheels up" or "wheels down". This is called Block Time in the airline world, coming from "blocks off" to "blocks on".

That said, on separate tickets this one doesn't allow much time for incoming flight delay with an inter-terminal transfer on separate tickets at JFK, given the airport layout (even without knowing the domestic airline). As always, it depends on the individual appetite for risk, but this is fairly risky.

For a flight departing JFK, Icelandair's check in opens 3 hours 30 minutes before departure and closes one hour before departure, and they use Terminal 7.

The OP doesn't tell us which airline is providing the New Orleans-New York service. Timing suggests Delta, in which case arrival will be into Terminal 2.

Now I always thought the advertised arrival time was the time the doors opened for disembarkation, not touchdown. This might be because I live in Europe where courts have ruled that this is the case for the purpose of measuring delays and so airlines have no option but to quote times this way, and maybe things are different in the USA, though I can't see why this would be so. And of course wheels down has to occur while the plane is still in the air, because if they aren't lowered before touchdown there will be a very nasty mess on the runway.

@AndyW33 - doors open is the measure for EC261/2004 delays, but even in Europe, airline schedules are still measuring the time off and on stand, not doors open. This is why there can still be disputes on EC261 claims, when the time taken to get doors open takes the delay over the threshold. Airline schedules the world over are measuring block time the same way, definitely not wheels up/down.

Thanks everyone. I will keep looking through flight options and see if my dates can be adjusted to make it work. I will check icelandair again to see if I can find an option to book from MSY. Other ways I have tried have almost doubled the prices. I do feel like that connection time might be a little tighter than I want to gamble with.

In my experience at JFK waiting for your luggage from your first flight and then walking to the Air Train and waiting for it to take you to your 2nd terminal can take quite a while! Then you have to go through security again at your Icelandair Terminal.

International flights often start boarding 1 hr before take off.

With all that I'd want more time between separately bought flights.

I like 3hrs between flights when they are all on one ticket so for separate tickets I'd either come the night before or have much more time!

I live in San Diego but I am originally from NYC and have flown through JFK many times on my way to Europe and landed there many times when visiting friends and relatives there.